Category: Features & Opinions (page 2 of 8)

Atletico de Kolkata’s Grassroots Programme – Looking for Tomorrow’s Stars

March 15, 2016 / / 3 Comments

The launch of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) has definitely encouraged the sport of football in the country. While more youth have been drawn to the sport, the ISL teams are doing what they can to give youngsters a platform to showcase their talent. After winning the inaugural season of the league, Atletico de Kolkata brought West Bengal’s Indian Football Association’s (IFA) Nursery League back to life. While some may argue that the team had selfish interests in doing so, the fact of the matter is that nearly 2000 children below the age of 14 got a chance to play competitive football. The club used the league to source new talent to train, and the team’s talent spotters looked for 15 to 20 children to send for the ISL grassroots development programme.

In the second season of the ISL, the West Bengal team were unable to reach the finals, but they haven’t let this interfere with their strong grassroots programme. Sanjiv Goenka, co-owner of the club, has spoken about his hopes of also acquiring a foreign team, but for now, his immediate focus is to build a football academy in Kolkata and really work on grassroots football in the country.

ATK, 1st ISL Champions

The 1st ISL Champions
Source: Atletico de Kolkata Facebook Page

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Don’t Quit

March 14, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Sorry! We’ve been a bit sloppy with our posts over the past week. Life has a funny way of swamping you with a bunch of busy sometimes. The one thing we did not miss, however, was this absolute beaut by Dimitri Payet:

Stunning, innit? But what’s even more shocking is the fact that Payet, given his tremendous natural footballing talent, nearly gave up the sport 13 years ago. If it weren’t for his father and uncle, Payet might have gone off the football map after being released from the Le Havre academy in France as a 16-year-old; the very same academy that has produced Riyad Mahrez and Paul Pogba.

Speaking about those dark days after being released, Payet says:

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Women’s Day 2016 – Step Up, Step Out

March 8, 2016 / / 0 Comments

If you’re not a woman living in India, you might not truly understand what odds a girl has to beat to step out of the house wearing shorts and a tee to play football. It’s even worse if you come from economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods where men will gape at you like it’s the first time they’ve seen human female form.

Every step on the journey to the football field is an adventure – you may come across the odd creep trying to cop a feel, a time-waster who merely follows you to where you’re going, or just the normal, everyday lech who dots the streets of India. No doubt, it’s important to remember not all Indian men are depraved, but the sad truth is that the instances we’ve just mentioned are a nuisance that girls and women have to deal with on a regular basis here.

Source: Step Up Step Out on Vimeo

Source: Step Up Step Out on Vimeo

This Women’s Day, we’re delighted to show you how organizations like Youth Football International, United Women Football Club (Faridabad) and Butterflies located in and around India’s capital, New Delhi, are bringing more young girls out to play football, express themselves and just have fun while they stay fit and learn new skills. It’s the least they deserve. Happy Women’s Day! Because girls, it’s time to step up, it’s time to step out.

Step Up Step Out from Arpita Sinha on Vimeo.

Fabulous Warm-Up Game!

March 5, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Wow. This could be such a brilliant warm-up game for grassroots football coaching! We could modify it to use footballs instead of bibs. And then even try the game out with footballs in hands or feet as more variations of the same game.

Love. Love. LOVE IT! ❤

Hope all you wonderful coaches out there find this useful! Shine on!

Advice from Wayne Rooney

March 4, 2016 / / 0 Comments

We were trawling across the internet for something nice to share here when we stumbled upon this excellent video (at the end of this post) of Wayne Rooney.

Advice from Wayne Rooney

Here, he offers advice from his rich experience as a pro that young footballers could definitely benefit from:

1. First Touch: This is something any decent football coach will always tell us – the importance of mastering the ball and commanding it to do what we want. How does one develop it? Practice. More practice. And then some more. Whether it’s juggling, jogging/running with the ball at our feet for a significant distance, or what have you, the more touches we get of a football every day, the better it will be to develop our touch. Here’s what Wazza has to say about it:

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#NeverGiveUp

February 25, 2016 / / 2 Comments

Baby Learning to Walk

Chhetri to Kick-Off Nationwide Talent Hunt

February 24, 2016 / / 7 Comments

Paul Breitner, legendary German World Cup winner, recently spoke about how India could become a powerful footballing country in a couple of decades. While people may have scoffed or laughed at him, claiming that India’s forte is cricket or hockey, it’s important to remember that football is going through quite a transition in the country. Today’s youth watch the Premier League and Champions League like it’s going out of style, and the ISL has gripped audiences of all ages. So, maybe there is a bit of truth in the ex-German footballer’s prediction.

Doing his bit is Indian football captain, Sunil Chhetri, who is working on developing the sport in the country. One of only 3 footballers from the subcontinent to play abroad, Chhetri is sure to give the youth some valuable input on what they can do to become better and play better. His stint at Sporting Clube de Portugal (better known as Sporting Lisbon) in 2012 gave a ray of hope to aspiring footballers in India, letting them know that one day they too can play in the big leagues. Although Chhetri did not spend a lot of time with the Primeira Liga team, he’s partnered with them again to do something far more interesting.

The national captain has been named brand ambassador of an initiative called DreamChasers, which has him going on a nation-wide hunt to find 15 talented youngsters between the ages of 8 and 14. After 15 days of scouting across 9 cities, the selected youth will be shifted to the Dr. Cyrus Poonawala International School in Kolhapur, where they will train under top-class coaches and technical experts from Sporting Lisbon.

Sunil Chhetri Sporting Lisbon

Sunil Chhetri Playing with Sporting Clube de Portugal
Source: Sunil Chhetri Facebook Page

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Innovative Ways to Develop Coordination in Kids

February 19, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Lauri Pihkala, a Finnish coach, and one of the first people to receive an honorary doctorate in Sport Sciences, once said something that holds true even today. He said: “Boys, don’t be in a hurry to join the men.”

Simply put, it’s important that we let children be children, and don’t rush them into becoming the world’s best football player at the tender age of 7. Kids need to be given the time and space they need to be able to master their physical coordination skills. They need to learn how to balance themselves properly while playing sport. For children between the ages of 4 and 8 especially, motor skills, balance, posture, spatial reasoning and agility are far more important than learning how to actually bend a ball like Beckham.

As coaches and parents, we sometimes forget that kids just want to play a sport for fun, or to learn, and we end up trying to teach them skills that they are far too young for, because we want to see them win. Kids need to master their bodies before they master any sport. While standing on one foot for at least 10 seconds, or using the agility ladder are common methods of helping kids develop their physical coordination, it can sometimes be boring and quite gruelling for the kids. Here’s how some youth trainers use exercise balls and balloons to teach kids the same kind of skills while making sure they have some fun!

PARA TODOS LOS QUE TRABAJAN EN LA PRIMERA FASE DE INICIACION (4-8 Años)Trabajo de psicomotricidad, equilibrio, postura corporal, localización espacial, aspectos coordinativos… Ejercicios estáticos o dinámicos que cultivan la conciencia del propio cuerpo y de la relajación de los músculos, con el fin de mejorar la postura y la coordinación de movimientos. ¿Qué os parece esta propuesta de sesión?A mi me parece espectacular!! Si un niño no es capaz de dominar su cuerpo…¿Cómo va a dominar el balón? Por eso hago tanto hincapié en estas edades en la realización de estos tipos de trabajos. Os invito a probarlo con vuestros niños y que nos cuenten como les ha funcionado. Un abrazo amigos, que paséis buen fin de semana!!!!! 😉

Posted by Agustin Lleida – Preparador Fisico Club Pachuca on Friday, February 12, 2016

Mumbai City FC & AIFF Conduct Grassroots Leadership Workshop

February 17, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Mumbai City FC joined hands with AIFF to conduct a grassroots leadership workshop from 5th to 7th February at the Vidyadhiraja School and Junior College in Bhandup, Mumbai. A total of 27 participants attended the three-day workshop with girls comprising nearly 50% of the group. The workshop, headed by chief instructor, Dinesh Nair, included both theoretical as well as practical sessions, and on the last day, the participants organised a grassroots festival.

Grassroots Workshop Theory Session

Participants in a Theory Session
Source: Mumbai City FC Facebook Page

Numerous participants were from the host school itself, and as part of the theory sessions, they learnt about grassroots philosophy, the importance of small-sided games, characteristics of age groups, fair play and racism, coordination agility and motor skills, football laws and fundamentals, as well as management and injury prevention techniques.

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Giving Children Responsibility

February 16, 2016 / / 2 Comments

If there is one massive issue that we face at grassroots, certainly in India,  it is that kids turn up for football training often bringing along an entourage – a parent who will merely accompany, a nanny who will be lugging all forms of munchies, beverages, ‘dirty’ cleats and a change of clothes, a driver who will bustle along just in case there is more help needed, and, on the odd day, a doting grandparent.

Independent Footballer Child India

Photo Credit: Diptendu Dutta

Don’t get us wrong. We are all for parent participation and support from family, but the thing we find really disappointing is how children are not allowed to do anything for themselves. Whether it is carrying their sports kit, putting on shoes, tying the laces, cleaning the boots, combing their own hair… it’s like the children don’t have minds and hands of their own! And unlike what parents and guardians may think, this is THE greatest disservice you are doing to your child.

Here’s a fantastic video, sorry an 8-minute education, that should be made compulsory viewing for parents and guardians all over the world:

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